Yonah and the Fish in Art/0

From AlHaTorah.org
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Yonah and the Fish in Art

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Introduction

Yonah 1-2 describe how Yonah is thrown overboard into the sea, swallowed by a fish, and finally released.The three artworks displayed here, Jan Breughel the Elder's oil painting,1 Giulio Romano's ink drawing2 and Joseph Asarfati's miniature from the Cervera Bible, all depict various aspects of the miracle. They differ in their portrayals of each of the main characters, raising questions about Yonah's state of mind when entrapped, the intended function of the fish, and the impact of the incident on the sailors.

Contrasting Images

Jan Breughel

Breughel's image is almost a seascape, with most of the canvas filled with the blue-greens of the rough sea, menacing waves, and dark, cloud filled sky.  In the left background, a series of uninviting, jagged rocks tower out of the sea, lending an air of danger to the composition. In the foreground, opposite the cliffs, the lighting illuminates the prophet and fish. A red garbed, penitent Yonah walks out of the massive critter towards the empty shore, as his hands clasp in prayer.  The fish itself, with its oversized face and droopy eyes, looks more comic than ominous.

Giulio Romano

This drawing is the busiest of the three images.  In the background, the sailors look out over their boat's gunwhale, gesturing toward the water into which they have thrown Yonah. One stands with his arms raised, apparently distraught over the deed. In the foreground, a petrified Yonah is spewed forth unceremoniously from a fantastical fish.  The creature is dragon-like, with a long tail, bird's head, and crocodile jaws. To the left, several onlookers edge away in fear, their arms outstretched as if to keep the terrifying monster away.

Joseph Asarfati

This miniature manages to tell the story with a minimum of detail. At the top of the image, three sailors sit in the small boat barely looking at Yonah, apparently indifferent to his danger. The prophet is depicted beneath them, and contrary to expectations, heads not into a raging sea, but straight from the boat into the mouth of the fish. He, like the sailors, appears calm, exhibiting no signs of distress or attempts to save himself. In contrast to the other images, this fish is fairly realistic looking, and hardly bigger than Yonah himself.

Relationship to the Biblical Text

The artists' choices reflect certain ambiguities in the Biblical text and different possible interpretive stances:

Yonah's Feelings

While Brueghel's Yonah emerges from the fish with his hands raised in a gesture of prayer, looking submissive and penitent. Romano's Yonah appears terrified, and Asarfati's prophet is apathetic.  What was Yonah feeling before, during,and after being delivered by the fish? When thrown overboard, did he welcome death, as suggested by R. Natan in the Mekhilta? when swallowed, did he view the fish as an instrument of salvation or of further punishment? Compare R"E of Beaugency who takes the former approach, suggesting that Yonah was thankful rather than frightened within the fish, with Abarbanel who takes the latter position, assuming that Yonah's entrapment led him to repent. For discussion, see Yonah's Prayer

Who witnessed the miracle? Both Romano and Asarfati portray bystanders witnessing the miracle (either the sailors or people on shore), while Brueghel's painting implies that there were none. The text is silent on the matter but the suggestion might help answer an open question in the text: what led the people of Nineveh to believe in the words of a foreign prophet, especially if he had not proven himself to them?  See R"Y Kimchi who suggests that the boatmen had arrive din Nineveh and shared the miracles at sea, providing the necessary sign for them to recognize him as a true prophet.3 

The Fish

Impact on Sailors

Where did Yonah Arrive?